MICHAEL JACKSON turns 50 on August 29th, and new photos of the former King of Pop show the years have not been kind to him. Then again, it could all be a ruse.Jackson was photographed at a Las Vegas Barnes and Noble bookstore on July 7 2008, appearing frail and gaunt as a bodyguard pushed him around in a wheelchair. Jacko was wearing pajamas, slippers, sunglasses, a baseball cap, a dreadlock wig and his now customary surgeon's mask.

Britain's Sun newspaper quoted one witness as saying, "There are constant rumors of a Michael Jackson comeback, but it was shocking to see that in reality he is a shadow of his former self. He seemed too weak even to get out of the chair..." The witness added, quote, "The skin on his hands was peeling, almost like a snake's...nobody approached him...it's really sad."Sources tell the newspaper Jackson goes out in a wheelchair when he is too weak to walk. A Jackson family friend tells Britain's Daily Mail the singer suffers from a recurring back problem.

A witness told the Daily Mail Jackson's three kids accompanied their wheelchair-bound dad to the bookstore. The witness says 11-year-old PRINCE MICHAEL, 10-year-old PARIS and five-year-old PRINCE MICHAEL THE SECOND, aka BLANKET, sat at a table in the children's section while dad looked through a number of children's books before being wheeled over to the music and magazine sections of the store.

Pop singer Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel.The 50-year-old star, pledged his allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles, the Sun reported.Jackson sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate -- days before the singer is due to appear at London's High Court where he is being sued by an Arab Sheik, the paper said. The star decided to adopt the new religion while he was recording a song at the home of his friend where a Jehovah's witness was brought up to help him through the ceremony.Apparently the star of hits like 'the Way You Make Me Feel-was convinced by his producer and songwriter friends David Wharnsby and Phillip Bubal. "They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea."An Imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief," the source revealed. Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah's angels. "Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa meaning "the chosen one", the source added.